Brenda L Volling
Biographic Data
| ID | 77169 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brenda L Volling |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brenda L |
| FAMILY NAME | Volling |
| SIGNATURE | VOLLING B L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Michigan |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2806-7237 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 39 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 184 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Following manosphere influencers and endorsement of traditional masculinity beliefs among adolescent boys.
Not Just Father Involvement! Contemporary Perspectives on Fathering and Father-Child Relationships
Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Fathers in Parenting Research: Insights from Fathering Researchers
These themes provide insights into how to include fathers in parenting research successfully. Recommendations for conducting father-inclusive research are presented as well as best practices for including fathers in research
You need to take turns! Sibling sharing and the emergence of conscience in early childhood
Toddlers and older siblings ( M age = 49.34 months) from 145 two-parent, mother-father families (85% European American, 4.9% African American, 3.5 % Asian American, 3.2% Hispanic) participated in a longitudinal investigation when toddlers were 18, 24, and 36 months old. Sibling sharing and the older siblings' management of the interaction was observed in a laboratory-based fishing game, and mothers and fathers reported on both the toddlers' and o…
Configurations of mother–child and father–child attachment relationships as predictors of child language competence: An individual participant data meta-analysis
An individual participant data meta-analysis was conducted to test pre-registered hypotheses about how the configuration of attachment relationships to mothers and fathers predicts children's language competence. Data from seven studies (published between 1985 and 2014) including 719 children (M age: 19.84 months; 51% female; 87% White) were included in the linear mixed effects analyses. Mean language competence scores exceeded the population ave…
The role of depression in the relationship between psychological intimate partner violence and mothers’ and fathers’ spanking: An actor–partner interdependence mediation model
Low‐income fathers are emotionally resilient: A qualitative exploration of paternal emotions across early parenting
Emotions play an important role in fostering positive parenting and healthy child development. This qualitative study explored the affective experiences of racially diverse US fathers with low income across the prenatal, postnatal, and early childhood periods. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 24 fathers. Interview questions asked about fathers’ early parenting experiences that elicit parenting emotions of different valence. Results …
Attachment relationship quality with mothers and fathers and child temperament: An individual participant data meta-analysis
0.19), suggesting that temperament plays a small yet significant role in child-mother/child-father insecure-resistant attachment relationships concordance. Taken together, results from this study prompt a more in-depth examination of the mechanism underlying the small yet significantly higher chance that children with increased negative emotionality have for developing multiple insecure-resistant attachment relationships. (PsycInfo Database Recor…
Examining mechanisms linking economic insecurity to interparental conflict among couples with low income
Paternal and maternal rejection and Chinese children's internalizing and externalizing problems across the transition to siblinghood: A developmental cascade model of family influence
This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal associations between paternal and maternal rejection and firstborn children's (Mage = 49.9 months; 55% boys) behavior problems across the transition to siblinghood in a sample of 120 families recruited from 2016 to 2018 from Shanghai, China. Parental rejection and behavior problems were assessed before (prenatal) and 1, 6, and 12 months after the birth of a baby sibling. Random intercept cross-lagge…
Will I love my second baby as much as my first? Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of maternal‐fetal relationship anxiety for second‐time mothers
Most mothers have more than one child. Second‐time mothers may worry about whether they will love the second baby as much as their first child. The current study examined mothers’ maternal‐fetal relationship anxiety (MFRA) to their second baby, the prediction of mother‐infant bonding (MIB) and infant‐mother attachment security post‐partum, and the psychosocial correlates of mothers’ MFRA during pregnancy. Mothers ( N = 241, 85.9% White, 5.4% Blac…
Amenders and Avoiders: An examination of guilt and shame for toddlers and their older siblings
10.4) during mishap tasks which were used to differentiate both toddlers and their older siblings into Amenders (low avoidance) and Avoiders (high avoidance). Toddlers and older siblings classified as Amenders expressed more concern and were less distressed by the mishap than Avoiders. Children were divided into four groups: Amender-Amender (older sibling-toddler), Amender-Avoider, Avoider-Avoider, and Avoider-Amender to examine differences in si…
Growth in emotion understanding across early childhood: A cohort-sequential model of firstborn children across the transition to siblinghood
Emotion understanding develops rapidly in early childhood. Firstborn children (N = 231, 55% girls/45% boys, 86% White, 5% Black, 3% Asian, 4% Latinx, Mage = 29.92 months) were recruited into a longitudinal study from 2004 to 2008 in the United States and administered a series of tasks assessing eight components of young children's emotion understanding from ages 1 to 5. Cohort sequential analysis across three cohorts (1-, 2-, and 3-year-olds) dem…
Configurations of mother‐child and father‐child attachment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems: An individual participant data (IPD) meta‐analysis
An unsettled question in attachment theory and research is the extent to which children's attachment patterns with mothers and fathers jointly predict developmental outcomes. In this study, we used individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to assess whether early attachment networks with mothers and fathers are associated with children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Following a pre-registered protocol, data from 9 st…
Fathering: New perspectives, paradigms, and possibilities
Testing the father–child activation relationship theory: A replication study with low-income unmarried parents
The current study aims to replicate and extend previous research on father–child activation relationship theory, which suggests that fathers engage in stimulating, challenging, and directive parenting behaviors that are likely to benefit children’s development. A large and racially diverse sample of low-income, unmarried couples with young children (n 672) was used to examine whether fathers and mothers exhibited an activation parenting profil…
Don’t touch: Developmental trajectories of toddlers’ behavioral regulation related to older siblings’ behaviors and parental discipline
Behavioral regulation is one of the key developmental skills children acquire during early childhood. Previous research has focused primarily on the role of parents as socializing agents in this process, yet it is likely that older siblings also are influential given the numerous daily interactions between siblings. This exploratory longitudinal study investigated developmental heterogeneity in behavioral regulation during toddlerhood and the ear…
Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Children’s Development
Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children’s development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father–child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies…
Fathers Are Parents, Too! Widening the Lens on Parenting for Children's Development
Why do fathers matter? Recent conceptual and theoretical advances regarding father–child relationships have demonstrated that fathers affect children's outcomes both directly and indirectly. To attain a complete developmental account of the ecologically rich contexts of child development, in this article, we recommend best practices regarding the conceptualization and assessment of father–child relationships that reflect contemporary family life.…
First-Time Motherhood Experiences and the Decision to Have a Second Child
Mothers' experiences with their firstborn child may be relevant for understanding the further growth of families. Dutch women ( N = 795) reported on motherhood experiences during pregnancy and the first year. Direct effect models of mood symptoms, birth expectations, and child negative reactivity, and indirect effect models via parenting self-efficacy were tested to discriminate mothers who had, wanted, were undecided, and did not want a second c…
Gender role beliefs, work–family conflict, and father involvement after the birth of a second child
A major task for parents during the transition to second-time parenthood is to help their firstborn adjust to their new roles as siblings. Increased father involvement has been theorized to be protective for firstborn adjustment. Fathers, however, are under increasing pressure to balance both work and family responsibilities. Here we evaluate fathers' relative involvement in two-child families as a function of family structure, gender role belief…
The role of relational spirituality in happily-married couples’ observed problem-solving
Emotion Socialization and Children's Behavioral Problems in China and the United States
This study focused on the emotion socialization practices (ESP) of mothers and fathers with their 4-year-old children in the U.S. and China in predicting children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Participants were 111 preschool children (58 Chinese, 53 U.S.) and their parents. Chinese parents were less supportive in response to their children's negative emotions than U.S. parents. Father's ESP were particularly salient predict…
Progress on the Paternal Brain: Theory, Animal Models, Human Brain Research, and Mental Health Implications
With a secure foundation in basic research across mammalian species in which fathers participate in the raising of young, novel brain‐imaging approaches are outlining a set of consistent brain circuits that regulate paternal thoughts and behaviors in humans. The newest experimental paradigms include increasingly realistic baby‐stimuli to provoke paternal cognitions and behaviors with coordinated hormone measures to outline brain networks that reg…
A Dyadic View of Support in Marriage: The Critical Role of Men’s Support Provision
Patterns of Marital Change and Parent-Child Interaction
Multiple Determinants of Father Involvement during Infancy in Dual-Earner and Single-Earner Families
Gender role beliefs, work–family conflict, and father involvement after the birth of a second child
A major task for parents during the transition to second-time parenthood is to help their firstborn adjust to their new roles as siblings. Increased father involvement has been theorized to be protective for firstborn adjustment. Fathers, however, are under increasing pressure to balance both work and family responsibilities. Here we evaluate fathers' relative involvement in two-child families as a function of family structure, gender role belief…
Perceptions of parenting as predictors of boys' sibling and peer relations
This study included 71 target boys (8 to 10 years), their siblings, and mothers to examine the relations among mothering, fathering, sibling aggression, and peer outcomes. Siblings whose mothers were known to be more rejecting were observed and reported to be more aggressive with one another than siblings whose mothers were less rejecting. Moreover, boys who experienced more aggressive sibling interactions were more likely to be nominated by thei…
Attachment security and parental sensitivity during infancy: Associations with friendship quality and false-belief understanding at age 4
The current study investigated how attachment security and parental sensitivity during infancy were related to children's understanding of false belief and friendship quality during the preschool period ( N = 30). At age 1, parent-infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation, and a 3-point security score based on the attachment subcategories was utilized. Also, at this time point, parental sensitivity was observed during two semi-struc…
A cross-contextual analysis of boys' social competence: From family to school
This study examined the extent to which the hostile attributions and coercive behaviors of mothers and sons were associated with indexes of aggression, acceptance by peers, and teacher-rated social competence in the peer group. Ss were 104 married and divorced mothers and their sons (7 to 9 years old). Mothers' and sons' hostile attributions were significantly related to the coerciveness of their interactions, but only mothers' attributions relat…
A Dyadic View of Support in Marriage: The Critical Role of Men’s Support Provision
The Role of Husbands’ and Wives’ Emotional Expressivity in the Marital Relationship
Fathering: New perspectives, paradigms, and possibilities
Don’t touch: Developmental trajectories of toddlers’ behavioral regulation related to older siblings’ behaviors and parental discipline
Behavioral regulation is one of the key developmental skills children acquire during early childhood. Previous research has focused primarily on the role of parents as socializing agents in this process, yet it is likely that older siblings also are influential given the numerous daily interactions between siblings. This exploratory longitudinal study investigated developmental heterogeneity in behavioral regulation during toddlerhood and the ear…
Emotion Socialization and Children's Behavioral Problems in China and the United States
This study focused on the emotion socialization practices (ESP) of mothers and fathers with their 4-year-old children in the U.S. and China in predicting children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Participants were 111 preschool children (58 Chinese, 53 U.S.) and their parents. Chinese parents were less supportive in response to their children's negative emotions than U.S. parents. Father's ESP were particularly salient predict…
Progress on the Paternal Brain: Theory, Animal Models, Human Brain Research, and Mental Health Implications
With a secure foundation in basic research across mammalian species in which fathers participate in the raising of young, novel brain‐imaging approaches are outlining a set of consistent brain circuits that regulate paternal thoughts and behaviors in humans. The newest experimental paradigms include increasingly realistic baby‐stimuli to provoke paternal cognitions and behaviors with coordinated hormone measures to outline brain networks that reg…
Sibling Jealousy in a Triadic Context with Mothers and Fathers
The current study focused on jealousy between toddler and preschool siblings. Sixty‐two families participated in triadic interaction sessions, in which mothers and then fathers were instructed to focus on one child (older sibling or toddler) while encouraging the other child to play with other toys in the room. Results indicated that child jealousy reactions differed between mothers and fathers, and parents behaved differently with older and youn…
Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Fathers in Parenting Research: Insights from Fathering Researchers
These themes provide insights into how to include fathers in parenting research successfully. Recommendations for conducting father-inclusive research are presented as well as best practices for including fathers in research
Testing the father–child activation relationship theory: A replication study with low-income unmarried parents
The current study aims to replicate and extend previous research on father–child activation relationship theory, which suggests that fathers engage in stimulating, challenging, and directive parenting behaviors that are likely to benefit children’s development. A large and racially diverse sample of low-income, unmarried couples with young children (n 672) was used to examine whether fathers and mothers exhibited an activation parenting profil…
Not Just Father Involvement! Contemporary Perspectives on Fathering and Father-Child Relationships
You need to take turns! Sibling sharing and the emergence of conscience in early childhood
Toddlers and older siblings ( M age = 49.34 months) from 145 two-parent, mother-father families (85% European American, 4.9% African American, 3.5 % Asian American, 3.2% Hispanic) participated in a longitudinal investigation when toddlers were 18, 24, and 36 months old. Sibling sharing and the older siblings' management of the interaction was observed in a laboratory-based fishing game, and mothers and fathers reported on both the toddlers' and o…
Relating Individual Control, Social Understanding, and Gender to Child–Friend Interaction: A Relationships Perspective
According to a relationships perspective, it is critical to consider how the individual behaviors and characteristics of both partners shape their social interaction. Adopting a relationships approach to the investigation of children's friendships, we examined how preschool children's and their friends’ controlling behaviors, social understanding, and gender were related to their dyadic interaction. Child–friend dyads (n = 49) were videotaped in …
Patterns of Marital Change and Parent-Child Interaction
Multiple Determinants of Father Involvement during Infancy in Dual-Earner and Single-Earner Families
A cross-contextual analysis of boys' social competence: From family to school
This study examined the extent to which the hostile attributions and coercive behaviors of mothers and sons were associated with indexes of aggression, acceptance by peers, and teacher-rated social competence in the peer group. Ss were 104 married and divorced mothers and their sons (7 to 9 years old). Mothers' and sons' hostile attributions were significantly related to the coerciveness of their interactions, but only mothers' attributions relat…
Perceptions of parenting as predictors of boys' sibling and peer relations
This study included 71 target boys (8 to 10 years), their siblings, and mothers to examine the relations among mothering, fathering, sibling aggression, and peer outcomes. Siblings whose mothers were known to be more rejecting were observed and reported to be more aggressive with one another than siblings whose mothers were less rejecting. Moreover, boys who experienced more aggressive sibling interactions were more likely to be nominated by thei…
Young children's social relationships with siblings and friends
Relationships with a close friend and a younger sibling were investigated in 30 first-born young children. Greater positive affect and reciprocity were found between friends than between siblings. Limited support for the consistency of individual differences in relationship quality across friend and sibling dyads was also revealed. Implications for child development and future research are discussed
Sibling Jealousy in a Triadic Context with Mothers and Fathers
The current study focused on jealousy between toddler and preschool siblings. Sixty‐two families participated in triadic interaction sessions, in which mothers and then fathers were instructed to focus on one child (older sibling or toddler) while encouraging the other child to play with other toys in the room. Results indicated that child jealousy reactions differed between mothers and fathers, and parents behaved differently with older and youn…
Relating Individual Control, Social Understanding, and Gender to Child–Friend Interaction: A Relationships Perspective
According to a relationships perspective, it is critical to consider how the individual behaviors and characteristics of both partners shape their social interaction. Adopting a relationships approach to the investigation of children's friendships, we examined how preschool children's and their friends’ controlling behaviors, social understanding, and gender were related to their dyadic interaction. Child–friend dyads (n = 49) were videotaped in …
Attachment security and parental sensitivity during infancy: Associations with friendship quality and false-belief understanding at age 4
The current study investigated how attachment security and parental sensitivity during infancy were related to children's understanding of false belief and friendship quality during the preschool period ( N = 30). At age 1, parent-infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation, and a 3-point security score based on the attachment subcategories was utilized. Also, at this time point, parental sensitivity was observed during two semi-struc…
The Role of Husbands’ and Wives’ Emotional Expressivity in the Marital Relationship
Sibling relationships and best friendships in young adulthood: Warmth, conflict, and well‐being
Although much work addresses the importance of siblings and friendships in separate investigations, few studies simultaneously examine both relationships. Young adults ( N = 102, M age = 18.7) were surveyed about their friendships, their sibling relationships, and their psychological well‐being (assessed by self‐esteem and loneliness). Participants with harmonious (high warmth, low conflict) sibling relations and same‐gender friends had the highe…
Mother- and Father-Reported Reactions to Children’s Negative Emotions: Relations to Young Children’s Emotional Understanding and Friendship Quality
Mother- and father-reported reactions to children’s negative emotions were examined as correlates of emotional understanding (Study 1, N = 55, 5- to 6-year-olds) and friendship quality (Study 2, N = 49, 3- to 5-year-olds). Mothers’ and fathers’ supportive reactions together contributed to greater child–friend coordinated play during a sharing task. Further, when one parent reported low support, greater support by the other parent was related to b…
Differential parenting and sibling jealousy: Developmental correlates of young adults’ romantic relationships
Data from a survey of 200 young adults assessed whether the early nonshared environment, specifically parental differential treatment, was associated with romantic relationship distress through its effects on sibling jealousy, attachment styles, and self‐esteem. Individuals who received equal affection from their parents in comparison to their sibling reported equal jealousy between themselves and their sibling, had higher self‐esteem, more secur…
Sanctification of parenting, moral socialization, and young children's conscience development
Religion is important to most U.S. families, but is often overlooked in research on children's development. This study examined parental religious beliefs about the sanctification of parenting, parental disciplinary strategies, and the development of young children's conscience in a sample of 58 two-parent families with a preschool child. Fathers were more punitive and used less induction when disciplining their children than did mothers. Materna…
Family transitions following the birth of a sibling: An empirical review of changes in the firstborn's adjustment
Nearly 80% of children in the United States have at least 1 sibling, indicating that the birth of a baby sibling is a normative ecological transition for most children. Many clinicians and theoreticians believe the transition is stressful, constituting a developmental crisis for most children. Yet, a comprehensive review of the empirical literature on children's adjustment over the transition to siblinghood (TTS) has not been done for several dec…
A Dyadic View of Support in Marriage: The Critical Role of Men’s Support Provision
Progress on the Paternal Brain: Theory, Animal Models, Human Brain Research, and Mental Health Implications
With a secure foundation in basic research across mammalian species in which fathers participate in the raising of young, novel brain‐imaging approaches are outlining a set of consistent brain circuits that regulate paternal thoughts and behaviors in humans. The newest experimental paradigms include increasingly realistic baby‐stimuli to provoke paternal cognitions and behaviors with coordinated hormone measures to outline brain networks that reg…
The role of relational spirituality in happily-married couples’ observed problem-solving
Emotion Socialization and Children's Behavioral Problems in China and the United States
This study focused on the emotion socialization practices (ESP) of mothers and fathers with their 4-year-old children in the U.S. and China in predicting children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Participants were 111 preschool children (58 Chinese, 53 U.S.) and their parents. Chinese parents were less supportive in response to their children's negative emotions than U.S. parents. Father's ESP were particularly salient predict…
Gender role beliefs, work–family conflict, and father involvement after the birth of a second child
A major task for parents during the transition to second-time parenthood is to help their firstborn adjust to their new roles as siblings. Increased father involvement has been theorized to be protective for firstborn adjustment. Fathers, however, are under increasing pressure to balance both work and family responsibilities. Here we evaluate fathers' relative involvement in two-child families as a function of family structure, gender role belief…
Fathers Are Parents, Too! Widening the Lens on Parenting for Children's Development
Why do fathers matter? Recent conceptual and theoretical advances regarding father–child relationships have demonstrated that fathers affect children's outcomes both directly and indirectly. To attain a complete developmental account of the ecologically rich contexts of child development, in this article, we recommend best practices regarding the conceptualization and assessment of father–child relationships that reflect contemporary family life.…
First-Time Motherhood Experiences and the Decision to Have a Second Child
Mothers' experiences with their firstborn child may be relevant for understanding the further growth of families. Dutch women ( N = 795) reported on motherhood experiences during pregnancy and the first year. Direct effect models of mood symptoms, birth expectations, and child negative reactivity, and indirect effect models via parenting self-efficacy were tested to discriminate mothers who had, wanted, were undecided, and did not want a second c…
Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Children’s Development
Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children’s development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father–child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies…
Testing the father–child activation relationship theory: A replication study with low-income unmarried parents
The current study aims to replicate and extend previous research on father–child activation relationship theory, which suggests that fathers engage in stimulating, challenging, and directive parenting behaviors that are likely to benefit children’s development. A large and racially diverse sample of low-income, unmarried couples with young children (n 672) was used to examine whether fathers and mothers exhibited an activation parenting profil…
Don’t touch: Developmental trajectories of toddlers’ behavioral regulation related to older siblings’ behaviors and parental discipline
Behavioral regulation is one of the key developmental skills children acquire during early childhood. Previous research has focused primarily on the role of parents as socializing agents in this process, yet it is likely that older siblings also are influential given the numerous daily interactions between siblings. This exploratory longitudinal study investigated developmental heterogeneity in behavioral regulation during toddlerhood and the ear…
Configurations of mother‐child and father‐child attachment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems: An individual participant data (IPD) meta‐analysis
An unsettled question in attachment theory and research is the extent to which children's attachment patterns with mothers and fathers jointly predict developmental outcomes. In this study, we used individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to assess whether early attachment networks with mothers and fathers are associated with children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Following a pre-registered protocol, data from 9 st…
Psychology (35 works) · Developmental psychology (34 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (25 works) · Social Psychology (25 works) · Family Dynamics and Relationships (17 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (14 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Sibling (10 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (7 works)